Tuesday ratings: The war hero won the mirror ball trophy, so why didn't you watch?

Let’s hope Dancing with the Stars victor J.R. Martinez doesn’t stop his round-the-clock celebration to check out the ratings from Tuesday: The episode that honored the war hero as this year’s best hoofer posted its lowest fall season finale ever. The two-hour event only posted a 4.1 rating/11 share, down 23% from last fall’s finale, according to early results. It averaged 19.4 million viewers.

But hey, let’s try to look at it as a glass half full: ABC still won the night in adults 18-49 (3.5/9) and viewers (15.6 million), thanks to some small but much-needed improvements to the viewership levels of Last Man Standing (2.7/8, up 4% from last week, and 9.3 million) and the excreable Man Up! ( 1.9/5 , up 12% from last week, 6.7 million). Sorry, but we’re still feeling pessimistic about the latter show’s long-term outlook.

Fox was second in the demo (3.2/9) because it ran a special Tuesday installment of The X Factor. It earned a 3.2/9 and 9.3 million viewers, down 18% from last week’s Wednesday performance show (3.9/10), but it still rocked with the teens.

CBS came in third in the demo, no doubt because those rabid NCIS fans had to venture out for some pre-Thanksgiving shopping. NCIS was down 13% to a 3.5/10 and 18.4 million viewers while NCIS: LA dropped 12% to a 3.0/8 and 14 million. As a result, Unforgettable hit a series low 2.2/6 and 10.3 million.

NBC came in fourth in the demo, despite a terrific episode of Parenthood. The latter drama only posted a 1.9/5, down 5% from last week, and 4.5 million. The Biggest Loser posted a 2.0/5 and 5.5 million.